Module 6 (chapter 25) - aromatic compounds Flashcards
background of benzene
- colourless, sweet smelling, flammable liquid
- found naturally in crude oil, a component of petrol and found in cigarette smoke
- classified as a carcinogen
- hexagonal rings of six carbon atoms with each carbon joined to one hydrogen atom
- classed as an arene
derivatives of benzene
- benzaldehyde has the flavour of almonds
- thymol is found in the aromatic herb, thyme
Kekule’s model
- 6 carbon joined by alternating single and double carbon bonds
how does the lack of reactivity disprove Kekule’s modern
- if benzene contained a C=C bond it should declourise bromine in an electrophilic addition reaction
- benzene does not decolourise bromine under normal conditions
- this led scientists to suggest that benzene cannot have any C=C bonds in its structure
how does the length of carbon-carbon bonds disprove Kekule’s theory
- X-ray diffraction used to measure bond lengths
- in benzene all bounds were found to be the same length (0.139nm)
- this was between the length of the single bond (0.153nm and a double bond of 0.134nm)
how does hydrogenation enthalpies disprove Kekule’s theory
- if benzene did have the Kekule’s structure, then it would be expected to have an enthalpy change of hydrogenation that is three time that of cyclohexane
- when cyclohexane is hydrogenated, one double bond reacts with hydrogen
- the enthalpy change of hydrogenation is -120KJmol-1 an d so expected enthalpy is 360Kjmol-1
- the actual enthalpy change is hydrogenation of benzene is only 208kjmol-1
- this shows that the actual structure of benzene is more stable than the theoretical kekule’s model of benzene
the delocalised model of Benzene
- benzene is planar
- each carbon atom uses three of its available four electrons in bonding to two other carbon atoms and one to a hydrogen atom
- each carbon atom has one electron in a a p-orbital at right angles to the plane of the bonded carbon and hydrogen atoms
- adjacent p-orbitals electrons overlap sideways, in both directions, above and below the plane of the carbon atoms to form a ring of electron density
- this overlapping of the p-orbitals creates a system of pi-bonds which spread over all six of the carbon atoms in the ring structure
- the six electrons occupying this system of pi-bonds are said to be delocalised
compounds with one substituent group
- in aromatic compounds, the benzene ring is often considered to be the parent chain
- alkyl groups, halogens and nitro groups are all considered the prefixes to benzene
- when a benzene ring is attached to an alkyl chain with a functional group or an alkyl chain with seven or more carbon atoms, benzene is considered a substituent
- this means the prefix phenyl is used
exceptions to substituent rule
- benzoic acid
- phenylamine
- benzaldeyde
compounds with more than one substituent group
- this means the ring is now numbered
- substituent groups are listed in alphabetical order using the smallest numbers possible
benzene reactions
- most are electrophilic substitution
- hydrogen atom is replaced by another atom or group of atoms
nitration of benzene
- benzene reacts slowly with nitric acid to form nitrobenzene
- this reaction is catalysed by sulphuric acid and heated at 50 degrees
- water bath used to maintain a steady temperature
- one of the hydrogen atoms is replaced by a nitro group (NO2)
why must nitration happen at 50 degrees
-if it goes above 50 degrees, further substitution reactions may occur leading to the production of dinitrobenzene
uses of nitrobenzene
- preparation of dyes, pharmaceuticals and pesticides
- e.g. starting material to make paracetamol
electrophile in nitration of benzene
-nitric acid isn’t the electrophile
STEP 1:it is the nitronium ion NO2+ produced by the reaction of concentrated nitric acid with concentrated sulphuric acid
STEP 2: the electrophile accepts a pair of electrons from the benzene ring to forma a dative covalent bond
-the organic intermediate formed is unstable and breaks down to form the organic product nitrobenzene and a H+ion
STEP 3:H+ ion reacts with HSO4- ion from step 1 to regenerate the catalyse